FntS: Forlorn's Duty
by Corrupt TE
Summary: Sequal to FntS: Rise of the Daemon. Follows the last of the Forlorn as he travels Mobius. He wishes to begin a new life, but the duty of a Forlorn can never be forgotten. Rated for blood, violence and death.
1. Chapter 1

**Corrupt TE here with the introductory chapter of my new fanfic.**

**For those who've just clicked, although this is a stand-alone fanfic you may want to read my fanfic, FntS: Rise of the Daemon.  
>This is something of a sequal and you'd get a better idea at what's going on.<strong>

**Anyway, usual rules apply: I don't own anything Sonic, SEGA or any of the Comics. The only things with my stamp on are the OC's and story.**

**Read, enjoy, ridicule.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Start of Something<strong>

His shoulders hunched against the howling wind, his moccasin covered feet ached. He trudged along the dirt road, flanked on one side by a steep cliff of dirt and stone and on the other side by a thick forest of pine trees. The light of day was fast fading and the smell of a storm was heavy in the air. His deep green eyes scanned around for a suitable shelter, finding it in a shallow cave carved into the cliff side.

He entered the shadowy cave cautiously, a hand going for the knife strapped to his waist. A quick survey found that the previous inhabitant was long gone and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shrugging the small pack from his shoulders he sat cross-legged on the ground facing the cave mouth. He rubbed his feet through the thinning leather of his moccasins, thoughts returning to the events which had led him here.

His name was Garth, Forlorn of the Zeno clan of Echidna's. Thought dead by his clansmen after fulfilling his duty, he took the opportunity to leave the remote mountains that hid his clan from all but the most foolhardy, and ventured out into the world beyond, becoming the first of the Zeno clan to set foot off the mountainside in countless generations.

He had traded his fur cloak at the first village he had entered, receiving the pack and a few days of supplies in return.

The villagers had looked at him with a mixture of awe and of fear. Most fled when he approached but many more remained to watch him cautiously from afar. His first contact with anyone beyond the mountains and he had been treated with fear and suspicion.

With a frown he fished out a strip of dried smoked meat from his pack and began chewing thoughtfully. According to some directions he had been given, the capital city of New Mobotropolis was about three day's journey along the main road. There he'd be able to replenish his supplies and perhaps acquire something more suitable to wear and some new footwear.

He stretched out the aches in his muscles as the rains began to hammer down outside. He grunted. So much for building a fire tonight. Standing up he walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out over the area.

His hand went to the scar tissue on his left shoulder and rubbed at it in an absent minded manner. Taking another bite from the dried meat he began to wonder what he might find on his travels.

Waking up the following morning, he stretched, feeling the small clicks of his back and sighing in relief. He blinked in the morning light and sat up, stretching his shoulders and relieving the built up tension in his neck. Stifling a yawn he reached behind and pulled forward the small pack he had used for a pillow and pulled out the half-eaten piece of dried meat from the night before.

After a few minutes of preparation, Garth stepped out of the cave and set off down the dirt road.

The going was soft underfoot and there were patches of standing water where the ground was too saturated to drain it away, but the sky was clear and the air was fresh. The sun warmed his back as it steadily ran its course across the sky and by midday he had taken to walking in the shade of the trees.

Stopping by a small, clear water bubbling brook, he took the almost empty waterskin from his pack and bent down to refill it. He remembered how he would often be resorted to melting snow for a mouthful of water during the long days and weeks of training back in the mountains.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he got the feeling he was being watched. His heart rate quickened as he carefully stowed the now refilled waterskin into his pack. His ears twitched at the sound of guttural snarling. Slowly he reached for his knife as the snarling got closer.

His fingers wrapped around the leather bound hilt and in a whirl of movement he had spun into a combat stance, knife held lightly in his left had and faced the snarling creature.

His eyes widened. He faced a Mobian anthro, their eyes bloodshot and red with white foam like spittle flying from their mouths. It was a young male badger, his clothes were torn to mere rags and his fur was long, dirty and unkempt.

"What in the name of-" With a guttural roar which revealed the badgers many sharp fangs, he leapt at Garth with claws outstretched.

Instantly Garth's Forlorn training kicked in and he spun out of the way. Flicking his knife to a backhanded grip he waited for the badger's next attack. Growling fiercely, fangs bared and claws flexing it circled around the echidna warrior, who tracked its movements calmly and patiently.

It charged again, intent on ripping out his innards. Garth sidestepped its wild swipe and in a swift motion, slashed his blade across its throat.

Crimson visceral blood erupted across the small clearing and the badger staggered slightly, gargling and scrabbling at the rent across its throat. Soon it collapsed into the brook with a splash, staining the waters red.

Garth breathed a sigh of relief and stepped cautiously towards the now still body. Still holding tightly to his blade, he grabbed the badger's feet, pulled him out of the brook and flipped him onto his back.

He knelt down beside the body and began to look him over. A youth, clearly not much younger than himself. Blood caked around his mouth and upon his claws indicated that the badger had killed and eaten fresh meat. He stared into the blood red eyes and could have sworn he'd seen something like this before.

Suddenly the badger screamed and lunged at him with teeth bared. Reacting purely on training and instinct, Garth plunged his knife into the badger's chest, cracking through ribs and straight into his heart giving an added twist which tore through more flesh and sinew.

The badger gaped for a moment before falling back to the ground. The red in his eyes faded away, leaving a more natural dark brown colour behind in the lifeless orbs.

Garth slumped onto the ground taking several moments to slow his heart rate and get his breath back. He stared at the hilt of his knife, still jutting from the badger's chest. He ran a shaking hand through his dreads before getting back to his knees and retrieving his knife.

He tore a strip of cloth from the body's remaining clothes and used it and some water from the reddened brook to clean the blood from his blade, before returning it the sheath at his waist. His gaze returned to the cooling body still seeping blood into the ground.

"It can't be…" He breathed as a theory came to mind. The badger's claws had receded into more natural fingers, and the multitude of fangs had been replaced by a natural set of teeth. Even his fur had become much more tamed and less animalistic. He chuckled without humour.

"I guess Rukrh was right." He reached his hand up to the badgers face and gently closed his eyelids and mouth. "Requiescat in pace."

He stood and left the clearing, deciding that forest could reclaim the badger for his transgressions. He returned to the road and set out with a new purpose. He would track down the Daemon's infesting this world, and if he could not bind them like he had done with Ashlie, he'd slay them.

For he was Forlorn, and this was his duty.

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><p><strong>Woo! Violence!<strong>

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this taster and more is to come.  
>Updates might be a bit irratic, but with any luck this'll be short lived.<strong>

**-Corrupt TE-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all, Corrupt TE here with the second chapter of Forlorn's Duty.**

**As usual, read, enjoy even review if you like.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Hunt Begins<strong>

After two days of travel, Garth finally set foot into the outlining fields of New Mobotropolis. His feet were sore from the long walk and sweat stung at his eyes. Blinking hard, he looked upon the long smooth wall that encircled the entire city; it was quite unlike anything he had ever seen before. Specks of green jutted from behind the giant off-white defensive structure indicating the growth of a forest just beyond the gates.

He walked towards one of the large archways providing passage into the city, noticing the four armed guards who stood watch there. Two were checking a cart full of various fruits while the owner looked on with a scowl. One of the guards noticed him and nudged his companion.

"What have we got here?" He asked with a smirk. The other guardsmen and the cart owner looked across to them, a silence descending among them. Garth's eyes flicked between each of the armed men, trying to read their motives.

"I merely wish to visit your market place; I am told you have one." This was true, as he was running low on supplies. The guard who had spoken grinned again.

"We do have a market, but before we even consider letting you in, we gotta search ya." Garth subtly shifted his stance, ready should the need arise to defend himself.

"Can I ask why?" The guard chuckled.

"Get a load of this guy!" The other guards smirked. "Look buddy, between Eggman's attack, the return of you echidna's and this crazed murderer running around, we're not taking any chances!"

"Did you say murderer?" Cried the cart owner, before he grabbed the handles of his cart, turned tail and pushed it back along the dirt road and fast as his legs could carry him. Garth watched with bemused interest as the cart slowly shrunk into the distance.

"You idiot!" Snapped another guard, slapping the first one on the back of the head.

"Echidna's have returned?" Garth breathed disbelievingly.

"Yeah, had a bunch come through here over the last few days." The guard continued, oblivious to Garth's amazement. "None were blue though, now I come to think of it."

"The fur pigmentation of my clan had adapted to-"

"Alright, alright! You don't have to make a song and dace about it!" The guard exclaimed waving his hands. Garth frowned. This sort of distrust and lack of respect was something he hadn't come across before. He shrugged and continued.

"You said something about murders, care to elaborate?" The assembled guards shared unsure glances, one of them shrugged.

"Might as well let 'im know." Piped up the one who had shrugged.

"Yeah, looks like he can handle himself anyway." Said another, pointing the butt of his spear at the knife and shovel claws that Garth had hanging from his waist.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, I mean the more people who know the better, right?" A chorus of shrugs and grunts were the response. "Well it's kinda weird."

"Weird! Try sick and twisted!" Barked the guardsman nearest the archway. "There's a fucking cannibal running around, munching on the citizens!"

"A cannibal?" Garth inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"We can neither confirm nor deny any cannibalistic attacks." Said the spear holder.

"Bullshit! I saw one of the bodies, I know teeth marks when I see them!"

"How many bodies so far?" Garth interjected quickly, before the conversation degraded any further.

"There have been three so far, one last night and two the night before."

"That's enough! Don't scare him away like you did that miserable farmer!" Exchanging a few disgruntled mutterings the guards returned to their posts and let the echidna through.

As he stepped through the archway, he couldn't help but look in wonder at the vast green forest that sprouted proudly around him. The forest stretched along the road for about a mile before stopping near the outskirts of the city. He stared along the long straight road and gazed upon the off-white buildings of New Mobotropolis and set off towards them at a brisk pace.

As his eyes wondered over the woodland he noticed tree houses and huts, zip lines and bridges spanning the gaps between suspended homes, and many anthro, young and old going about the day to day business of their lives. The sight reminded him of the times he would watch the villagers of his own home, the one he had left behind.

A normal life, something that had always eluded him and something he could never have. He'd spent too long in training to understand the social etiquette of life, he was more versed with a blade than with words.

He knew he could never become one of them, but he still had his duty to perform and this cannibalistic murderer sounded a good place to begin. He swiftly walked along the dirt road, the sounds of hustle and bustle slowly filtering through the air.

-0-

He spent the remainder of the day performing little jobs for shop owners in exchange for supplies. Most of these included heavy lifting and transport of goods from one place to another but he didn't complain. Without a single penny to his name he did what he could to get by.

As he worked, he listened to the gossip that flitted around the busy market place, listening out for anything to do with the murders. Picking out a number of facts wasn't hard to do, as the nattering mouths of the people never seemed to close. He shook his head; many in his village would prefer long hours of contemplative silence to several minutes of needless talk.

"It's happening in the old quarter I hear." He carefully placed the heavy box on top of another and listened carefully. "Three in two nights and the police and guard have no leads."

"Really? You would've thought that the King would call back some of his forces to help in this." Garth glanced over to the two people, a rather large housewife holding a basket of fruit and a thinning old man leaning on a crudely whittled walking stick.

"We mustn't forget the Robotnik attack. We're lucky the King is still alive!"

"True, but it just seems like no-one is doing anything while…" Their words were lost as they walked back through the crowd.

Garth thought about what he had heard. The old quarter. He decided he would check it out after the market had closed.

-0-

When night had finally fallen, he had followed some directions the old shop-keeper had given him and knelt on the edge of a tall, albeit ramshackle building which was in the midst of being renovated. The scaffolding reaching up the west and north facing walls had provided him with an easy climb, and from this vantage point he could see most of the old quarter and beyond.

He fidgeted slightly, the new cloths the old man had given him feeling strange and itchy. He was wearing what had been called, hand-me-downs: a pair of fading black jeans, a thinning grey t-shirt and a pair of slightly worn grey boots.

The boots felt especially heavy to him and it had taken him a few minutes to get used to the weight difference. Garth had strapped on his shovel-claws and had his knife sheathed against his lower right leg.

He was silent as he listened to the sounds of the night, his eyes, now attuned to the moonlit darkness scanning over rooftops and into alleyways. He hoped that the rumours he heard were correct, or another innocent would fall victim this night.

He stayed this way for hours, gently flexing his muscles so as to not have them seize up and to avoid the annoying tingling and numbing sensation he often got from being still for too long.

As the night wore on, he closed his eyes and allowed his ears to see for him. Listening to the night for anything.

A scream for help, his eyes snapped open and focussed in the direction the cry had come from. Rising swiftly to his feet he judged the distance from his position to the next building and leapt into the dark sky. He landed with a role but was up and running in moments towards the screaming. Leaping over alleyways and dodging chimneys and washing lines he sprinted onwards, preying he would be in time to save the terrified victim.

He skidded to a halt at the edge of a rooftop and glanced down the alley. At the end of it were three figures, two towering over a third, who was cringing on the floor. He rushed to the edge and dove towards them.

Garth landed two paces away and in a swift movement slammed the heel of his palm into the startled face of one of the standing Mobians. He followed up by driving his elbow into the stomach of the other and in a flurry of non-lethal attacks they were both unconscious and lying on the floor.

He knelt down; ignoring the whimpering female he had just saved and checked the eyes of her two attackers. Seeing that neither had the telltale red eyes he grunted his displeasure and stood to leave.

"Wait!" He looked back at the young beagle who had gotten back to her feet and was shivering in fright. "Thank you, you saved my life!"

Garth watched her for a moment, thankful that the darkness of the alleyway mostly obscured him from sight. "The streets are not safe at night. Return home swiftly."

That said, he turned and marched away, leaving the alley and vanishing from the beagle's sight. He jogged into another darkened street and climbed up the wall to the roof, before setting out in search of a nearby vantage point he could use. The night was still young, and if luck was on his side he would slay a Daemon tonight.

The night slowly wore on. Twice more he had leapt to the defence of a helpless Mobian, and twice more the attackers were normal anthro and not his target. A feeling of infuriation was slowly building up inside him as he squatted on top of another building, staring down into the starlit streets.

He shivered, an odd feeling washing over him, a feeling both alien and familiar. He looked down a nearby street and saw something move swiftly across his line of sight. Slowly he stood, something didn't feel right. Garth clenched his fists and set off in pursuit.

He struggled to keep eye contact with the creature as it darted through the night and shadowy streets, but nether-the-less he kept chasing. He landed on another rooftop with a role, quickly getting back to his feet and scanning the area. Spinning on the spot, his eyes searched everywhere but his quarry had vanished.

"Damn it!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the night before being quickly cut off. Immediately Garth leapt into action and sprinted towards the scream. Landing in the dirt street with a thump, he skidded around a corner and saw a sight which almost brought the bile up from his stomach.

A creature was bent over the still form of an anthro, tearing lumps of flesh from tits victim with its teeth. Blood splattered the walls and spread on the ground, its crimson pool reflecting the moonlight. Growling, Garth settled into his combat stance and shouted his challenge.

"Praepara animam daemoni! Tuus veniet mors velociter!" The creature turned and once more Garth had to fight down the urge to gag.

Strips of clothing and flesh hung from jagged fangs, blood red eyes pieced through the darkness fixing on Garth's green eyes. A guttural growl rumbled from its throat as it turned it body to face him.

It looked like whoever it was had once been a ferret, but now its back had arched over so it looked like it was in a continuous crouch, its fur was as ragged and unkempt as the badgers had been and the claws on both its hands and feet flexed menacingly as red blood dripped slowly from them. Its snout had lengthened and row upon row of razor sharp teeth were bared, slick with blood and more unsightly elements. Its once bushy tail had changed into a long sinuous serpent like appendage with jagged barbs sticking out from the tip, which swept behind the creature.

Any other person to see this creature would have screamed in terror and tried to flee, but Garth had been trained never to show fear, never to run from his battles, and as the daemon took a step towards him, the echidna focussed his mind on one thing and one thing only, slaying the daemon.

He assumed that it would charge recklessly at him much like the Daemonic badger had done back in the forest glade a few days previously, and as such he was surprised as it leapt up the side of the building, claws scrabbling away as is swiftly climbed the wall and vanished over the lip and onto the rooftop.

"Damn it!" Cursed the echidna and he gave chase. He pulled himself up after the Daemon, quickly dropping into a crouch in preparation to defend himself, but the creature was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing no sign of his quarry, Garth dropped back into the alleyway and knelt down next to the bloodied carcass of the victim, a young rabbit. He looked her over, checking the horrendous wounds the Daemon had inflicted.

Her chest and stomach had been torn open and feasted upon, her wrists were torn, she had tried to fight back. Her face was pale and blood splattered, and Garth pitied her. He reached out his hand and gently closed her eyes and mouth, giving her a slightly more peaceful expression.

"Requiescat in pace." He whispered. By the time someone found her body and informed the guards, Garth was long gone.

His hunt for this Daemon had only just begun.

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><p>Translation:<p>

Praepara animam daemoni! Tuus veniet mors velociter! (Prepare yourself Daemon! Your death will come swiftly!)

Requiescat in pace. (Rest in peace.)

**Woo! And we're done!**

**Yes it will become a character quirk that he says various things in Latin.**

**But enough of that. hope you enjoyed this latest piece and stay tuned for more.**

**-Corrupt TE-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter is up!  
>And boy did I enjoy writing this one.<strong>

**Anyway, no point in babbling, hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 3: The Cost of the Forlorn**

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><p>Garth returned to the old man's house, confused and upset that the Daemon has not only killed another anthro but also that it had gotten away from him. The sight of that creature standing over its victim still burnt brightly in his minds eye. He need to stop it, anyway he could.<p>

He looked up as he approached the front door and to his surprise saw that the light was on. Cautiously he tested the door handle, finding it unlocked he carefully pushed the door open. His footsteps were quiet as he stepped slowly along the hall. The light ahead of him was coming from the kitchen he had been shown in his brief tour of the house.

During his return journey he had removed his shovel-claws and hitched them back onto his belt, so his hand gingerly began to ease his knife from its sheath.

He kicked the door open, knife leaping into his hand. Two steps through he noticed that it was the old man himself and quickly hid the blade behind his back.

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder where you had gone." The aging hedgehog said with a smile, his moustache quivering slightly as he spoke. "Looks like you've had quite the active night, my boy."

Garth looked down at his dirt and dust covered clothes and frowned. He had never really cared how he looked before, but this community seemed to place so much social importance on looks and dress sense.

"I hope you're well rested, I'm expecting a large delivery of ingredients for the new recipe I'm testing today." The hedgehog turned back to continue cooking breakfast and Garth put his knife away.

"I will always be in your dept for the kindness you have shown, Mr. Hedgehog." He said with a slight inclining of the head.

"Please, call me Charles, or Chuck. My nephew does all the time." The greying hedgehog chuckled.

"Charles." Garth confirmed. "Forgive me if I woke you."

"Nonsense my boy. I always get up at this time. It's the early bird that catches the worm, as the saying goes." Garth looked up at the clock upon the wall, reading the time as half-past six. Had he really been out that long?

"So tell me." The echidna's kind host continued. "What was so important to keep you out for the whole evening?"

Garth turned away slightly, unsure whether he should tell the hedgehog what he had done or not. "And I know that the streets can be dangerous, but you look like you were expecting trouble."

"The truth, Charles is… Have you heard about these cannibalistic murders that have been happening?" Garth asked carefully.

"Why yes, started a few days ago I believe. Has got the King and the guard in a frightful tiz."

"Another one happened last night." Charles dropped his cooking utensils with a clatter and turned to stare wide eyed at the blue furred echidna. "It happened because I failed to stop it."

"What are you talking about, Garth?" The hedgehog asked, fear tingeing his words.

"The thing killing these people, is called a Daemon. A creature of terrible power and a lust for bloodshed. From what I can gather, these creatures were once anthro like you and I, except something has tainted them, changed them into vicious beasts. I'm not sure what caused this change or whether it's merely temporary. What I do know is that unless they are stopped, they'll just keep killing."

Charles had been steadily growing paler as Garth had been speaking and had slumped into a chair.

"I've heard some crazy things in all my years, but this?" Charles looked sternly at the echidna. "I'll speak with Antoine about this, but in the meantime you will not breath a word of this to anyone unless I say otherwise, do you understand me? We don't want to spark a city-wide panic!"

"Of course, Charles. I thought you needed to know, thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet my boy." Charles said firmly. "What you've said sounds like madness! But your face is an honest one, and that scar of yours tells me you're not one too make a joke out of something like this."

Garth replied with silence and after a moment Charles sighed.

"I'll reschedule the delivery and you can come with me to talk with Antoine."

"Who is this, Antoine?" The echidna asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Antoine D'Coolette, Captain of the Royal Guard and once a Freedom Fighter against Dr. Robotnik." Garth frowned. A lot of questions kept popping up in his mind, many questions about the world, its people and its history, but he knew that his curiosity would have to be sated another time.

"If you believe he can be trusted."

"He can be more than trusted. He has weathered much more than people know during the resistance, and more recently he suffered a very serious injury in the service of the crown." Charles the Hedgehog said in an assuring tone.

"When do we leave?"

"Now."

-0-

It didn't take long for the hedgehog to contact the delivery company to reschedule the delivery of his ingredients, and within moments they had left the house on their way to the Castle, which was still under reconstruction after an attack. Garth remembered to rumours he had heard about Dr. Robotnik attacking the castle a number of days ago and decided he would try to find out more about this dangerous Doctor.

As they climbed up the cracked stone steps of the Castle, Garth noticed that they were being watched by guards, builders and passersby, but chose to ignore it as curiosity.

"Welcome back Sir Charles." As soon as they stepped over the threshold, a brown furred Lynx appeared in front of them quite literally. She had an extremely shapely figure which was draped with a light purple flowing robe and short black hair that ruffled in the slight breeze. Garth took a surprised step back; dropping into a combat crouch. Charles chuckled at the echidna's reaction but was otherwise undeterred.

"A pleasure as always Nicole." He said with a smile. "I was hoping we could see Antoine D'Coolette."

The Lynx looked Garth up and down in an analytical manner. Unbeknownst to the echidna she was adding his physical description into the New Mobotropolis database. After a moment she looked back at the hedgehog and smiled.

"Of course Sir Charles, I have just notified him of your arrival. If you would like to come with me please." She turned with a grace and poise unrivalled and began leading them towards the Security centre of the castle. Charles looked at the cautious echidna and gestured politely.

"After you my boy."

Slowly, Garth set foot after the Lynx. Nicole had paused to allow them time to catch up with her and looked with concealed amusement at the echidna's actions towards her. She slowed her pace to walk beside him.

"Forgive me if I startled you. We weren't expecting a visit from Sir Charles today." She said, her voice sounding a little off to the echidna.

"Perhaps you could explain to me how you can appear like that?" He sounded extremely calm despite the initial shock and his obvious lack of trust.

"I am a fully sentient AI construct formed out of billions of nanorobots to create a physical form. As such I am able to personally appear anywhere I am needed." Garth thought for a moment, remembering some of the things Professor Von Schlemmer had told him about the technology of the world.

"So you're a machine."

"Correct. Although initially I was a simple VI computer programme utilised by Sally Acorn during the years of the Freedom Fighters. However, as Dr. Robotnik upgraded his security and computer programmes, it was deemed necessary that I receive similar upgrades. Thus, through the combined technological genius of Rotor Walrus and Tails Prower, I was created." She explained. Through the use of her countless nanorobots she observed his reactions and analysed his expressions and slight changes in body posture.

"These terms, VI and AI. What do they mean?"

"VI is the abbreviated term for Virtual Intelligence, AI being the same for Artificial Intelligence. The difference between these two programmes is relatively simple." She answered helpfully. "A VI is a programme. It cannot think for itself or analyse the change of events without access to the changing information. An AI maintains a form of sentience, and is in most ways considered a normal anthromorph."

"Except that you think faster, are more intelligent and are made up from thousands of these, nanorobots." His comprehension of such advanced technology surprised both Nicole and Charles, and the old hedgehog couldn't help but smile as he followed them in silence.

"Indeed. However I did not create my physical form until a few years ago, after a technological mishap I was granted control of a physical body for a short period of time. It was because of that incident that I designed and created this physical form. Until then I merely utilised my nanotechnology to maintain a network spanning across the entirety of New Mobotropolis, but as we expanded it was deemed a waste of resources to continue spreading this network."

"So does this network extend to the Old Quarter?" Garth asked quickly, stunning the Lynx for a moment.

"Once my network did span the Old Quarter, but now I maintain it only at certain travel hubs within the sector." Garth looked away in thought. "May I enquire as to why you asked?"

The echidna looked back at Charles. "Can she be trusted?"

"As soon as you tell Antoine what you've told me, Nicole will know about it." He answered with an amused chuckle. "So yes, she can be trusted."

"Alright." Garth proceeded to tell Nicole the reason he had first come to New Mobotropolis, and what he had found out. She asked many questions about his knowledge of the Daemon he was hunting and his thoughts on its origin. In turn he asked about the other cannibalistic murders and whether there was any connection between the victims and if there were any similarities during the examinations.

-0-

Soon they passed through a set of doors, finding themselves in a small room adjoining a second, through which they could observe through a large pane of two-way glass. There were two anthro who turned to regard the new arrivals, a light blond rabbit wearing a purple leotard, brown cowboy hat and heavy looking brown jacket, her legs and left arm glinted and Garth quickly realised that they were metallic. The other was a brown furred coyote with short cut blond hair. He wore a pair of light brown boots and a blue jacket with red trimmings, very similar to that of the guards Garth had encountered on his entrance of the city and his right arm was metallic, similar to the rabbits left.

"Captain D'Coolette and Miss Rabbot, it's so nice to see you two again." Charles said stepping past Garth and Nicole. He shook the coyotes hand and gave the rabbit a friendly hug.

"Aww, Uncle Chuck, it's lovely ta see ya again." The rabbit responded happily, her accent thick and relaxed.

"Sir Charles. When Nicole told us you wanted to speak with me I was, surprised to say the least." The coyote said his accent much more fluid and polite.

"Who's ya friend, Chuck?" Asked the rabbit, looking quizzically at Garth.

"Forgive me. Bunny, Antoine, this is Garth, an echidna who arrived in the city yesterday." Garth nodded to the two anthro, Bunny responded with a smile and by dipping her hat, while Antoine frowned and folded his arms.

"You know full well that civilians are not allowed back here Sir Charles." Antoine said sternly. Garth looked past the coyote and through the glass wall into the adjacent room.

It was an undecorated black square room with three anthro inside, two blue dressed guards standing by the only door and someone wearing a white medical robe who was curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth. She was a ferret.

"So what's going on here?" Charles asked curiously as he also looked through the two-way mirror. Antoine followed his gaze, his frown deepening.

"You know I cannot tell you anything about an ongoing investigation."

"Oh come on Ant, you don't trust Chuck?" Bunny objected jovially.

"No, it's not that! It's just-"

"She came in here this mornin' claiming she had woken up, naked and covered in blood."

Garth's eyes widened and he barged past everyone to have a closer look at her. He ignored their complaints, leaned on the desk and stared through the glass at the ferret.

"It can't be!" He breathed. The ferret couldn't be more than sixteen years old.

"What do you think you're doing?" Antoine demanded, grabbing Garth's shoulder with his left hand. Unfortunately for the Captain of the guard, Garth reacted purely on instinct, spun around, grabbed Antoine's offending wrist, twisted it behind Antoine's back and slammed his face onto the desk, all before anyone else could react. Just as quickly he released his grip and stepped back.

"I'm sorry."

"What the Hell!" Bunny cried angrily as Antoine got shakily back to his feet and rubbed his shoulder. Nicole came to Garth's rescue.

"Garth is highly trained in the arts of close combat. I have included this information in a report I forwarded to you moments ago." She explained quickly.

"Could've given me some warning…" Antoine grumbled. He looked over at the echidna with a mixture of anger and respect. He was the first person to do that to him in many years.

"I apologise. I often forget that organics take longer to digest new information and have a slower input format." Charles and Bunny laughed and even Antoine smiled, Garth however kept a straight face and went back to observing the ferret.

"Care to explain why you've brought Garth here Sir Charles." Antoine asked. Charles looked at the echidna.

"Garth?" The echidna was silent for a few moments.

"This is going to take some explaining. My duty is to hunt and destroy Daemon's."

-0-

Over the course of the next half-hour Garth told them everything he had told Sir Charles and Nicole. He recounted his actions the previous evening, including his encounter with the creature he believed responsible for the deaths. He answered as many questions he could, but whenever they enquired as to his origins and of his knowledge he refused to answer them, claiming that some things needed to remain secret. He even told them of his encounter with the Daemonic badger he had slain during his journey to New Mobotropolis, placing emphasis on the fact that it didn't stop until he had stabbed it in the heart.

"Interesting." Nicole stated when he had finished. "I have dispatched a patrol to the Old Quarter to locate the body, but according to autopsy reports and from what you have observed; this Daemon always eats the stomach of its victim."

"Why would that be intere-" Bunny began.

"I'm so hungry." They all turned to look at the ferret who was clutching at her stomach like she was in pain.

"She was fed just over an hour ago." Antoine said curiously.

"Can you get me something to eat?" The ferret pleaded at the two soldiers standing guard. They looked at each other and one reached up to his earpiece. Garth shivered, a familiar and disturbing feeling coming over him.

"Get your men out of there." He said. Everything was beginning to fall into place.

"What? Why?" They all looked at Garth like he was mad.

"She's the Daemon, get 'em outta there!"

The ferret's whimpers turned into cries of pain and she had curled ever tighter into a ball. One of the guards took a few steps towards her when there was a loud sickening cracking sound as her back began to arch. Her nails began scraping at the floor, at first doing nothing, but she changed they began to gouge out great rents of fabric and then metal as her claws extended. Scales began to appear on her fluffy tail as it changed, deadly barbs exploding outward.

The two guards stood unmoving as they watched the change in complete terror and in the observers' room, the gathered anthro stared on, and even Garth had never seen this sort of change, his face turning slightly pale.

Soon the cries of pain and agony ceased and were replaced by a vicious animalistic growl.

The Daemon slowly rose to its feet and glared around the tiny space it was confined in. By now the two guards had backed away as far as they could go, one of them was trying to find the door handle as he continued to stare at the creature that had appeared in front of them. The Daemon opened its long mouth and roared, causing the two guards to scream in terror.

That shook Garth out of his stupor and he turned and charged out of the small room, intent on finding the door to that small holding room, hurriedly strapping on his shovel-claws as he went.

"Garth!" Nicole shouted after him, giving chase.

Back in the adjoining room the Daemon leapt on the nearest guardsman, its claws cut deep and blood burst outward, splattering the walls. The guard kept screaming until the Daemons mouth closed over his head and with a crunch it bit through the flesh and bone, leaving only the lower jaw still attached to the body. The other guard had fallen to the floor when the Daemon had leaped at them and was screaming as he tried to get as far from the creature as possible.

This however caught the Daemon's attention and in threw the lifeless body aside. It advanced towards the panicking guardsman slowly, blood, flesh and brain matter dripping from between its fangs.

With a smash, the door caved in and Garth staggered into the room. He quickly regained his footing from smashing through the door and clenched his now metal encompassed fists as the Daemon turned its glaring red eyes on him. Nicole quickly followed the echidna into the room and the Daemon's eyes flicked between the two of them.

It roared and charged, blood and spittle flying, and while Nicole dove out of the way, Garth steadied his footing and took the charge. He fended off its snapping jaws with one hand while he clenched one of its wrists tightly with his other. He kicked the Daemon as hard as he could in the stomach causing it to stagger back. He winced in pain as its claws raked his side, blood blossoming from the cuts. Releasing his grip on the creature he began to throw punch after punch, the spikes on his shovel-claws gouging out bloody chunks of flesh with each strike.

As he fought, Nicole slid up to the petrified guard and physically dragged him towards the door and away from the violence.

Garth was struggling to maintain the small advantage he had over the Daemon. If he let up from his strikes to reach for his knife, he'd create an opening which the Daemon would surely take, but at the same time he was running out of room to manoeuvre.

The former ferret suddenly turned, sweeping out its barbed tail. Garth quickly rolled away, feeling the tip lick painfully across his thigh. Now he was on the defensive, blocking each blow with either his clenched fists or the vanbraces covering his forearms.

His back thudded against a wall and he was forced to duck, hearing a smash of glass he realised that it had broken the two-way mirror. He took this opportunity to draw his knife before rolling out from under a set of snapping jaws. The Daemon suddenly shrieked and staggered back. Garth looked up and saw Antoine standing on the window ledge, striking out at the beast with a blade that had extended from his metallic arm.

Garth quickly rolled to his feet, twisted behind the creature and stomped his booted foot down on the Daemon's tail. With it pinned down he plunged his knife through the scales, and with a twist, a sickening snap and a tearing of flesh, ripped the creatures' tail off. Blood burst over his hands and feet and the removed tail quickly changed back to that the ferret's original tail.

The Daemon shrieked again and turned its attention on the echidna, swiping out with clawed hands which Garth dodged, darting out of its reach.

Antoine stabbed his blade between the Daemon's shoulders and it spun around to face him again. However, because Antoine's blade was an extension of his arm he was spun around with the beast, his blade sliding free and sending him flying into Garth.

The Daemon scrambled through the shattered glass and scurried through the open door. Garth and Antoine scrambled to their feet and stared after the creature.

"Come on, we've almost got it!" Garth grunted, taking a few steps after it.

"What about your injuries?" Antoine asked worriedly.

"I've had worse, now come on, we can't let it get away!" He was about to climb through the shattered two-way window when Nicole's sudden appearance caused his to stagger back.

"I am attempting to heard the Daemon towards the courtyard, where Bunny and Sir Charles are preparing an ambush of guards to face it." She said hurriedly.

"All you're preparing is a walk-in buffet for that thing!" Garth snapped. "Unless you forgot, the only way to kill this thing is to keep it contained long enough for someone to stab it in the heart!"

"Which is exactly the plan." Nicole replied calmly. "As soon as the Daemon reaches the courtyard, I will use my nanoids to entrap it, providing enough time for the guards to slay it. Now follow me quickly, I can get us to the courtyard before the Daemon."

She ran out of the room and both Garth and Antoine quickly followed. She brushed her hand against a wall and it opened up for them. Despite the number of questions and the throbbing pain of his still bleeding wounds, Garth ran on in silence and could only hope that Nicole's plan would work.

-0-

The trio dashed out into the open air sandy training courtyard to find it completely devoid of any guards.

"Where's Bunny and Sir Charles?" Cried Antoine in a near panic, voicing the obvious question they all had.

"It is logical that they have run into complications acquiring the necessary rein-"

"We get it, no back up!" Garth interrupted. He skidded to a stop in the middle of the courtyard and faced the only exit to the building.

The courtyard itself was situated at the back of the castle, out of the way of the public domain. It was surrounded on three sides by the forest and river, and on the forth by the fortified walls of castle Acorn.

Garth clenched his fists and brushed his metal coated knuckles together, sending small, short lived sparks flying with each stroke. Antoine stood on his left side, the long slender blade that extended from his cybernetic wrist scraping the ground. Nicole stood on the echidna's right, flexing her fingers in readiness to spring into action.

"Curious." She said with a slight tremor in her synthesized voice.

"What is it?"

"I am experiencing a distinct rise in my anxiety levels, coinciding with a rise in fear and uncertainty. It is… odd."

"You're nervous." Nicole glanced over at the blue furred echidna. "It's understandable when facing the unknown."

Although he sounded calm, Garth's nerves were fraught. Although he had been trained for moments like this, he had only faced two other Daemons, one which had slaughtered their way through the other Forlorn and several well trained warriors. He had been lucky to survive that encounter, but he didn't escape without scars both physical and emotionally.

With an echoing thud, the metal door buckled and the trio tensed.

"Spread out and get ready." Garth commanded and the others followed without question, moving until they covered the majority of the compound.

A second thud caused the bolts in the door to snap and with the third assault the twisted and buckled metal was sent flying outwards. The bloodied and enraged Daemon quickly spotted them and roared. It charged towards Nicole, deeming her the least threatening, its claws gouging out great rents in the ground as it thundered towards her.

"Nicole!" Garth yelled, sprinting towards her.

Instead of diving out of the way like she had done earlier in the small interrogation room, Nicole held out her arms and spread her fingers wide. From the tips of her fingers flowed sand like substance that swirled around the oncoming Daemon, encasing it with a solid, concrete like matter. The Daemon slowed and began slashing at the hard shell that was slowly creeping up its body. Garth noticed Nicole wince every time the Daemon's claws slashed across the material and he realised that she was using her own nanorobots to stop the creature. He skidded to a stop a few paces from her, marvelling at what she was doing.

With an enraged roar the Daemon plunged its claws deep into Nicole's nanoids causing her to scream in pain. It must have realised what it did as the Daemon began attacking the nanoids that encased it with increasing ferocity.

"Nicole, release it!" The echidna shouted as Antoine skidded to a stop beside him breathing heavily.

"But I've almost-" She screamed again as the Daemon continued its onslaught.

"Do it!" Antoine shouted. With a mixture of reluctance and relief, Nicole dropped her arms and every nanoid that encased or swirled around the Daemon flooded back towards her.

Garth and Antoine charged, their blades glinting in the sunlight. The writhing creature saw them and screeched in rage. As the two Mobians got close it leapt at them. They both managed to block its first strikes but then it kicked Garth in the stomach so hard that he went flying past a panting Nicole, and then raked its claws across Antoine's chest, tearing through his uniform and tearing great rents in his flesh. The coyote landed facedown in the dirt, cringing at the pain. The Daemon then turned its attention on Nicole who was knelt down and breathing heavily.

She looked up fearfully as the creature advanced. It was practically on top of her when she steadied her breathing and literally fell apart; each of the billions of microscopic robots that made up her physical form falling away, leaving the Daemon confused and further enraged that its prey had somehow escaped.

The Daemon turned its blazing red eyes on the river and forest beyond and began running towards them. Garth grunted as he sat up, his eyes quickly spotting the Daemon. He scrambled to his feet and ran towards it at an intercepting angle. As they both neared the water, Garth tackled the Daemon sending them both spiralling into the waters.

They grappled underwater, both fighting to reach the surface while fending off the other. Garth exploded out of the water, took a deep gasping breath and plunged a clenched fist down onto the Daemon's head. Fresh blood burst outward, merging with the small stream of red that flowed from both of them. The water frothed and bubbled as they fought for survival and for breath.

Suddenly the Daemon found its second wind of strength and it threw the echidna out of the water, sending him flying into the trees. Branches broke as he smashed to the ground. He looked up groggily to see the Daemon marching menacingly towards him, its face was torn and there were many cuts and gouges crisscrossing its flesh, enough to kill a normal Mobian three times over and yet it was still standing.

He got to his knees and felt around for his knife as the creature got closer and closer. His hand clenched around something as the Daemon leapt towards him and he brought up whatever was in his hand. He stared in disbelief as the daemon looked down at the thick tree branch that had been thrust into its chest. With a snarl Garth twisted the branch and the Daemon coughed up some blood before it slowly transformed back into the ferret it had once been.

He let go of the branch and scrambled to his feet, staring down at the brutalised form lying stock-still on the ground before him. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his face. He knelt down and carefully pulled the blood slickened tree branch from her body and tossed it aside. Looking down at her now lifeless face, he shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry." He breathed before reaching up and closing her eyes. "Requiescat in pace."

He leaned back abd looked up at the sky that peeked through the forest canopy. Was this what he was destined for? To end the lives of inocents just because they didn't know what they are doing? To always see who they once were after they die?

Taking a deep suddering breath he stood up and gathered the lifeless body of the young ferret in his arms. He turned back towards the river and set off, hoping he would find a shallow section he would be able to cross. He didn't want to face having to carry her through the bustling streets of New Mobotropolis.

-0-

He sat down in the dirt, his back pressing against the cold stone wall behind him. He had successfully managed to return to the castle and had laid the ferret's body in the middle of the empty courtyard before collapsing where he now sat. He stared at the motionless body. So young, with her entire life ahead of her. How could life be so cruel? He shook his head in sorrow and looked down at his blood encrusted shovel-claws.

"You are distressed. Is everything alright?" He looked up to find Nicole squatting next to him.

"Distressed is somewhat of an understatement." He replied gloomily. "She was so young Nicole. She didn't deserve this."

"You did what you had too." She said reassuringly as she sat down beside him. "You said so yourself, if she wasn't stopped she would keep killing."

They were both silent for some time before Garth next spoke.

"The first Daemon I ever faced slaughtered her way through dozens of highly trained warriors before we… I, finally managed to seal her within her host. Her power was disrupted and as far as I'm aware Ashlie is living a happy and healthy life somewhere. Without the fear of, becoming the Daemon again."

"If you can seal the Daemon within its host, shouldn't you be able to do the same with others?" Nicole asked. Garth chuckled without humour.

"Most of those who knew how to prepare the ritual are dead, and the only artefact destroyed. I don't know of any other way that I could…" He looked up at her. "How are anyway, it sounded like the Daemon was, hurting you somehow."

She looked sown, seeking an answer.

"It's strange. Ever since I created this form, I've been experiencing strange feelings and emotions I've never to contend with before. It's like I am-"

"Becoming mobian?" She looked at him in surprise before smiling sweetly.

"For lack of a better analogy, yes." A moment of silent understanding drifted between them. "I've informed Bunny Rabbot of your return and she is on her way to take possession of the body. Also, Sir Charles wishes to speak with you, he says it is urgent."

"Alright." Garth sighed standing up, using the wall as leverage. "Take me to him."

He held out his hand which Nicole accepted and she led him to a secret passageway. They disappeared into the passage just as Bunny and several guardsmen rushed out onto the blood covered courtyard.

-0-

They emerged into a small darkened computer room with two large screens dominating the room. A single desk was between them with a simple chair before it. In the chair sat a purple skinned walrus wearing a yellow baseball cap and a brown bomber jacket. Standing just behind him was Sir Charles the Hedgehog and a golden furred twin-tailed fox wearing a sleeveless pair of blue overalls stained with oil and grease. They all turned to regard the new comers and Charles step forward and clapped Garth on the shoulders.

"Garth my boy, you look terrible." Garth smirked.

"Thanks Charles."

"This is the guy huh?" Asked the fox. Garth first looked at the two new anthro and then back at Nicole.

"These are Tails Prower and Rotor Walrus, I have informed them of what you've done for the Kingdom, and they can be trusted." She said reassuringly.

"Yeah, but did you know you're a wanted man now?" Said the walrus. Garth stared at him and noticed that his left eye and part of his skull had been replaced by cybernetics, a gleaming red camera was where his eye should've been.

"What do you mean?" The walrus spun his chair back around and began typing into the computer.

"Well, the guards and police force received a call about a blue furred echidna standing over the bloody remains of a brown ferret." The file appeared up on the tow screens and Rotor turned back to look at the echidna. "You're wanted for her murder."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you've gotta get outta town quick." Tails replied. "Now if Nicole says you're trust worthy, that's good enough for us, but for everyone else…"

"I understand." Garth said morbidly.

"We'll help you to get out of the city, but from there you're on your own my boy." Sir Charles said, resting a hand on the echidna's shoulder.

"Here." Rotor tossed something over to Garth and he caught it. "That PDA will give us a means to contact you should anything weird happen here again and if we need your help."

"I will also forward any information to you that contain the possibility of Daemonic attacks." The lynx added. Garth nodded in silence.

"Here's the instruction manual." Tails handed him a small but thick booklet to accompany his new PDA. "Now we've got you booked on a ship the Kingdom of Mercia, under the name of Ronin Enfield. I'm just sorry we can't do anything more."

"You've done enough, thank you. When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow." Charles replied heavily. "So for today, you must lay low and keep out of sight."

Garth nodded his head in confirmation.

"I believe I may be able to provide a suitable hiding place for you. If you would like to follow me." Garth looked at each of the Mobians, and one by one nodded his thanks before turning to follow Nicole.

Because of his duty he had made friends and enemies. He was both hero and villain, saviour and destroyer. He realised that he could never stay in one place for too long, lest he risk capture or the wrath of the authorities.

He was Forlorn, and his duty called him onward.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, that was a long chapter...<br>Pretty much doubled my word count for Forlorn's Duty.**

**Quick advert, if you would like your OC to appear as a minor character, drop me a PM and let me know.**

**This is Corrupt TE**

**See ya!**


	4. Chapter 4

**It occurs to me that I haven't given this story as much focus as I did with FntS.  
>But still, after a long wait, here's the latest in the journey of the last Forlorn.<strong>

* * *

><p>Garth leaned on the railing as the ship slowly left New Mobotropolis harbour. His stomach was performing summersaults as the waves chopped around the seaborne craft, but he swallowed down what ever bile edged up his throat and stared back at the harbour fading into the morning mist. He rolled his shoulders, still getting used to the extra weight of the jacket gifted to him by Bunny Rabbot.<p>

He had only been in the city for two days and he was already wanted for the murder of a young ferret. He had been forced to fight and kill her due to the fact that she had turned into a blood crazed Daemonic killing machine. However, according to Rotor the general public wouldn't see his actions in a heroic light, they would howl for blood. He had been seen standing over the ferret's body, coated in her blood and the assumption was made.

Sir Charles the Hedgehog had given him a new pack of supplies and clothes, with Nicole agreeing to dispose of the blood stained hand-me-downs, and they both had seen him to the harbour and onboard the ship. Everything was happening so fast that he hadn't had the chance to speak with anyone in great detail about what was going on. All he knew was that he had to disappear, and like a snowflake in a blizzard, he did just that.

The ship was headed for the neighbouring Kingdom of Mercia, a place marred in history and surrounded by thick forest, ergo a very good place to disappear. He leaned his head on his arms as another bout of nausea washed over him and he began thinking back on his hurried exit from the kingdom of Acorn.

*Flashback*

He had barely had enough time to recover from his fight with the Daemon when he was hustled into an underground facility that hadn't seen use since the days of the Freedom Fighters. There he cleaned himself up, bandaged his wounds and looked over what supplies he had left before giving Sir Charles a list of items.

He had been told that Antoine was alive and that he was being taking care of in the Timmy Turtle Memorial Hospital. Tails and Rotor were working hard on covering up the Daemonic attacks and providing his new false identity with enough of a background so he could board the ship without any hassle. Nicole orchestrated everything while keeping a close eye on him should anything go wrong.

Although he attempted to keep a calm demeanour about himself, his heartbeat and the steady flow of sweat trickling down his back contradicted him. He had seen how the others were coping with this change of events, by keeping busy, by refusing to talk about the recent events or by carrying on as if nothing had happened.

After an intense training session, the Forlorn would usually spend their time tending to their weapons, the few pieces of armour they possessed or aiding the villagers as needed, but here Garth was lost for what to do. He had already cleaned and sharpened his weapons and his clothing was being sorted for him. He sat down in the corner of the poorly lit room and let his mind wander.

The room itself was Spartan, the only form of furniture being a small bed and a table. Nicole had said this had once been a prison cell for criminals deemed too dangerous to be seen by the public, or for those the Royal family wanted to disappear. The irony wasn't lost on the echidna. Not only did he need to disappear, but he was technically a wanted criminal.

Criminal. Now there was a word that was new to him.

Back in the mountains, should someone commit a crime they would be punished accordingly, either by a cut in food rations or being made to join a hunting team. Only rarely was there call for imprisonment and even then it didn't last very long.

Life in the mountains was too harsh for any prolonged incarceration, and the only form of execution they had was the possibility of being killed during a hunt, making it the worst sentence to be given. No-one even considered exile.

The only ones to ever leave the mountains were the Forlorn, and only then for training sessions. Garth could honestly say that he had travelled further afield and seen and experienced much more than any other echidna of the Zeno clan.

He chuckled without humour and stretched his aching muscles. There was a knock at the door and Nicole entered carrying a small tray of food and a small leather bound journal under her arm.

"I assume you are hungry, according to Sir Charles you haven't eaten anything at all today." She placed the tray and journal onto the table and sat down next to him. The growl of his stomach answered her question, to which she smiled. Garth grabbed the chunk of bread.

"Thank you Nicole." He tore a chunk off the bread and started chewing.

"It is quite alright. Until the morning you're to remain here, and in order to keep his Majesty in the dark, I'll be taking care of you." Garth swallowed his mouthful and stared at the lynx.

"You're keeping your King unaware of me? Why?" Nicole leaned back and cocked one leg over the other.

"He's still sour about Dr. Robotnik's assault some time ago and he was, less than enthusiastic when the first echidna's arrived in the city seeking asylum from their clan on the newly dubbed Albion." The midnight-blue echidna leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees.

"I heard rumours in the market place about echidna's returning. Albion…" He rubbed his chin in thought. "I'd like to meet some of these echidnas, if it's possible."

"Perhaps you can." He turned his surprised and hopeful gaze on the relaxed lynx who looked back with a smile. "But unfortunately I will not be able to facilitate such a meeting."

Garth frowned. "So in other words, no."

"Not at all." Nicole replied, shifting herself into a more relaxed position on the bed. "A meeting is entirely possible; the likelihood of you running into one of the self-dubbed Albion echidnas is relatively similar wherever you go. However if it is your intention to make contact with them I might suggest that you travel to Central Square, and from there travel to Albion itself."

"Where is Central Square?" Garth asked before taking a swig from the small cup Nicole had brought along with the food.

"Central Square is the main travel hub upon this continent; therefore any of the main trade routes will eventually lead you there. However, the roads in and out of New Mobotropolis are heavily guarded and your description has been circulated throughout the kingdom. You'd be lucky to make it to the boarder on foot, let alone to Central Square."

"So this boat to Mercia is my best bet." Upon seeing his thoughtful expression, Nicole sat up behind him and began massaging his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"According to my research, those in stressful situations sometimes require some form of relaxation method." She explained while continuing to work on his muscles. "I am therefore massaging the build-up of lactic acid from your muscles to aid in a swifter recovery."

Garth wanted to tell Nicole to stop, but as her fingers applied pressure to various point of his shoulders and upper back, he couldn't help but feel relaxed to the point where nothing else mattered except for Nicole's magical fingers.

"I've got something for you." Nicole reached behind her and placed the brown leather bound journal on his lap.

"What's this for?" Garth asked opening the book and flipping through the empty pages.

"The creatures you have decided to hunt are… well, there're very few records of any such creatures within my entire database and I thought it logical that you should note down whatever you can whenever you encounter such a creature." She went back to rubbing his shoulders. "Not only will such information be invaluable should we come under such an attack again, but from what you said there could be thousands more of them, and if that is the case then the experience you gain would be extremely useful in training other hunters."

"Unless you forgot Nicole, my duty doesn't exactly make me a popular figure. If I am going to continue my duty, I'll have to remain unknown, always on the move, I can't waste time training others."

"Can you at least write about any creatures you encounter?" Nicole pleaded. "Should you… should…"

"Should I what?" He turned to face her and saw the worried expression on her face.

"Should you… fall… any knowledge and information you may have learnt would be lost with you. To lose you would be… I… don't want that to happen."

*End Flashback*

Reaching into the pack Sir Charles had given him, Garth pulled out Nicole's journal and opened it to the very first page. He returned to his room and sat down at the desk provided. Picking up pen and pencil he set about writing up what he had faced, seen and how best to deal with them. It was a six day voyage and he needed something to take his mind off the choppy waves.

-0-

As the boat sailed slowly into the Mercian harbour, Garth reflected on his first journey by sea. Although it had taken him a few days to get used to the feel of the waves and the constant creak of the ship itself, he had found the trip rather pleasant.

He had been invited to the table of a pair of travelling merchants on a couple of occasions and had enjoyed their company rather more than expected. The two merchants were a wallaby and a kangaroo-rat from a place called Downunda and they were hoping to finalise a trading agreement with the Mercian traders' guild. Although they had pried into why Garth was travelling to Mercia they knew when not to ask questions they wouldn't like the answers too.

Other than that the six days and nights at sea passed without any incident. Garth kept himself to himself at most times, researching what little information Nicole had downloaded into his PDA and noting down anything of interest in his journal.

He stood up from where he had been leaning against his cabin wall and gathered together what few belongings he actually possessed. Shouldering his pack he headed through the door, and towards where the gangplank would be. Other passengers were already waiting, waving to people standing in the harbour, lugging heavy loads and luggage about, all pushing and shoving, trying to be the first one to disembark.

Garth hung back and waited for the crowd to charge down the gangplank and spread out into across the dock. This exodus didn't take long and he soon strode down the gangplank. He looked out at the town, its small buildings and the large clock tower which dominated the skyline.

The town was surrounded by the thick forest which Mercia was both famous and infamous for. He had heard rumours from the other passengers that bandits and outlaws still roamed the roads between villages, and only the capital, Lonon was truly safe, although according to the chattering mouths the High Sherriff's of various towns and cities were doing their best.

He wandered into the town square. He needed to buy some more travel provisions and perhaps something to sleep on other than the ground. Although he did receive many stares from the locals, Garth quickly purchased what he needed using what little money Sir Charles had given him and was soon walking down the road leading out of the town. The nearest village was almost seven hours walking distance and it was there he decided he would stay for his first evening back on dry land.

Upon noticing his leaving of town, the pair of Downunda merchants rushed the preparing of their cart of goods in order to travel with him. Garth didn't mind, although they were simply travelling with him for added security the company would help while away the long hours on the road.

"You never really said what you were coming here to do." Said the wallaby from behind the reigns of the cart-horse. The kangaroo-rat was sat next to him, but was currently looking over their stock and checking things off a list for the third time since leaving the ship. Four hired guards walked with them, two carrying crossbows and the others with swords and shields. Garth looked up at the merchant whose friendly smile was slightly nauseating.

"I'm travelling, simple as that." Garth replied shortly.

"You don't seem the type to simply be travelling."

"How so?" Garth asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well for starters you carry a set of weapons, and the scars you wear tell me that you've seen combat and you carry yourself in the manner of one who's got a purpose. Were you in the Acorn Army by any chance?" The echidna brought his eyes back to the road ahead.

"No." Just then a beeping sound began emanating from his pack. Garth fished out his PDA and opened the message he had just received from Nicole.

_Message from contact in Deerwood Forest. Strange disappearances in villages surrounding Knottingham. Might be nothing but suggest investigation. Have informed contact of your arrival. Is a green hedgehog under the name of Rob O' the Hedge._

_Nicole._

"How far to Knottingham?" He enquired. The short space of silence that followed meant that he had caught the wallaby off guard with his question.

"Well now umm… three days walk, but we can be there in two. Why?"

"Nothing, just a possible job." He messaged his thanks before stowing the device back where it belonged. "It seems I will be journeying with you after all."

"Excellent!" Piped up the kangaroo-rat clapping his hands. "The more the merrier."

Garth's answering smile quickly turned to a frown as he sped up his pace to avoid any more questions. There was only so much that he was prepared to say, and even less to complete strangers. In fact, the only name the two merchants knew his by was the alias of Ronin Enfield and even that he'd been reluctant to give.

But as he walked on his mind wondered to the kinds of things he might be facing, the sights he'd be seeing and the types of people he'd meet along the way. Part of him was excited, another rather nervous, but a large part simply demanded him to focus. Just because he had left the Acorn Kingdom behind didn't mean that he could relax. There was no knowing what he was marching off too; he had no knowledge about the terrain and even less about the people.

Then again, every journey starts with but one step, and when you make that first step you are ignorant to everything around you.

-0-

He jogged through the forest in light footed strides which seemed to eat away the distance he travelled, his heavy brown boots barely leaving an impression in the dirt in there passing.

He was known as the best woodsman of Knottingham and Deerwood and knew the forest better than anyone else in the region, but even he was at a loss as to what had happened to those villagers.

He stopped by a small brook and pulled back the brown hood which covered his thick quills. Wiping his forehead with the back of a hand he shouldered his bow and squatted down. Cupping his hands into a bowl he lifted a small amount of water to his parched lips and slurped down the cool blue liquid.

Reaching into the small pouch which was tied around his waist he produced an empty waterskin and proceeded to refill it. He'd been scouting the forests all day for any signs of the missing villagers with very little success, any evidence he found appeared circumstantial at best.

He stood and stowed his waterskin before looking up at the clear sky through the green canopy of treetops. His name was Rob the Hedgehog, more commonly known as Rob O' the Hedge, and he was, or at least had been a Freedom Fighter. Now however he contented himself to patrolling and guiding people through the forest.

With the fall of Robotnik, the people of Mercia were freed from his tyrannical rule, however other tyrants quickly rose to the now empty seat of power, and Rob O' swiftly found himself an outlaw once more. However, his ties with the Kingdom of Acorn meant that he was largely protected from any political action against him, but this didn't mean that he was trusted. Indeed, the new High Sheriff of Knottingham made Rob O's life quite unbearable and he was often on the wrong side of the ever changing law.

He rubbed faced, the troubles of the day flitting around his mind. He had heard some rumours in the market about an influx of echidna's into New Mobotropolis, but so far no concrete evidence had made the trip across the waves, leaving any questions Mari-An and the Lost Tribe had unanswered. And now with the whole business about disappearing villagers…

He was at a loss for what to do, so when Nicole had sent a message that someone with experience investigating strange disappearances was travelling to Mercia, he had jumped at the chance for the help. Nicole had told him that the help, a Ronin Enfield, would be arriving in Knottingham in a few days time, but Rob O' was frantic to find the missing people. And so, Rob O' the Hedge had set out from Knottingham towards the harbour town of Fisher's Straight, where the majority of civilian transport and trade ships from the Acorn Kingdom docked.

If he travelled swiftly enough he'd make it while the sun was at its zenith in the sky. The joys of being able to navigate the forest when everyone else would have to take the long and winding roads. He had to admit however that he was very curious as to who this expert was and how they'd be able to help when even the greatest woodsman was stumped as to what happened to the missing villagers.

-0-

He woke up groggily, his head throbbing in pain and a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. He looked at his surroundings through blurred vision. There was little to no light so it was difficult to make anything out beyond vague shapes. A steady throbbing of his shoulders caused him to wince, which in turn made the chains binding his wrists and dangling him from the ceiling to rattle.

Immediately his heart began to race, his breathing becoming deeper and more ragged. The air was dusty and somewhat stale, the floor beneath his reaching toes rough stone, covered with dirt.

Memories began to flash back of him and two friends out hunting for deer in the forest, of them tracking their prey and camping under the canopy. He recalled the screams of his closest friend which were cut short. Something had invaded their camp, something that moved wickedly fast and erringly silently. Whoever or whatever it was, it had easily knocked them unconscious and now he found himself here.

As his eyesight slowly adjusted to the darkness he began to make out the shapes of other people, dangling by chains just as he was. A noise and he turned as best he could to see what made it.

"Help!" He cried, the word coming out as a rasping croak which tore at his dry throat. Scraping footsteps got closer as a shape slowly got closer.

It was tall, unnaturally so with long, thin gangly limbs, and as it got nearer the more terrified he became. It faces was withered, skin drawn taught over bone, lips pulled back to reveal a set of pointy, dagger-like teeth.

His whimpering swiftly escalated into a terrified scream. His toes pushed hard against the floor as he made every attempt to get away from the creatures long reaching fingers, but his every attempt was thwarted by the heavy binding chain, and the last image he saw was that dreadful face, before sharp teeth tore into his neck.

Dangling nearby, a brown rat turned his head away from the gruesome sight as his friend was torn apart by the creatures frenzied feeding. He caught the eye of another captive whose expression was that of someone who'd long accepted their fate and he realised that it was here that he would die.

-0-

They had made camp under the tree canopy just off the road as the sun rose high in its zenith. The horses had been hitched to a nearby tree and left to graze with two of the guards tending to them. The other two were keeping watch while leaning against a tree sharing a strip of dried meat.

"-lost three wheels, two horses too heat stroke and survived by drinking the water from cacti!" The wallaby finished his tale with a rambunctious laugh which had Garth smiling.

"Why you ever traversed the outback is beyond me." The kangaroo-rat said once he'd stopped chuckling. "I'm just glad I was away on business in that new city they're trying to build where Robotnik's scrap yard used to be."

"Have you two been in business together for long?" Garth asked, accepting the bottle passed over by the still chuckling wallaby.

"Longer than I care to remember. Our business was started by our grandfathers, which was then passed to our fathers before being inherited by us. But since they only traded around Downunda, we decided to build trade routes worldwide, increasing profits by quite the margin." The kangaroo-rat replied in a waffling tone, clearly the drink they were sharing was quickly getting the better of him.

"And what do you trade in?" Garth drank a fair mouthful of the slightly bitter, yet warming liquid and handed the bottle back.

"Mostly in handmade luxury goods like-" A sudden scuffle and shouting voices snapped them all from their relaxing conversation.

Garth leapt to his feet and rushed towards the three man struggle between two of the guards and a third individual wearing a hooded brown vest. The echidna grabbed one of the guards by the shoulder and pulled him away before shouldering himself in-between the two remaining combatants.

"What's going on here?" Shouted the wallaby after he and his friend had finally caught up. The guard who had been thrown to the floor regained his footing and glared at Garth. The echidna didn't pay the guards any heed and faced the stranger.

"Who are you and are you alright?" He asked while the two traders began listening to what their guards had to say. The stranger smiled and drew his hood back, revealing his hedgehog features.

"I'm fine, thank you for helping though." The hedgehog rubbed his stomach where one of the guards had struck him. "My names Rob O' the Hedge."

Garth had to do a double take before the name truly sunk in. Garth lowered his voice considerably so that only the hedgehog would hear him.

"Nicole sent me to help you." Now it was Rob O's turn to be surprised.

"You're Ronin Enfield?" Garth answered with a nod before standing upright. Rob O' the Hedge looked at him for a moment. "When Nicole said that someone would be coming to help I never thought you would be an echidna…"

"I understand that my people have long remained, elusive." Garth admitted with slight trepidation.

"If you could, once you've helped me, there are some people who I think you'd be keen to meet."

"Perhaps." Garth said finally, swiftly wrapping up their hushed conversation as the wallaby and kangaroo-rat traders along with their gathered group of guardsmen approached.

"Our guards say that you are a bandit." Began the kangaroo-rat.

"Which is preposterous!" Finished his friend. "Have you ever heard of a single bandit attacking an armed caravan?"

"There could be others hiding in the forest!" Snapped one of the guards. Garth ignored the guard's outburst and turned to the two merchants.

"I'm afraid I must leave." This comment caused all to stare on in silence. "This man was sent to find me, and if that's the case I should hurry. Thank you both for your hospitality but it'll be faster if we carry on alone."

Without answering questioning looks, the last of the Forlorn collected his belongings and left in the company of the green furred hedgehog, leaving a pair of confused and somewhat infuriated traders and their guardsmen behind.

Once they had travelled a good distance through the trees, Garth placing his trust in the stranger Nicole had stated was a friend to lead the way through the forest, the green hedgehog Rob O' the Hedge stopped by a small brook.

"If you knew that I was on the way, why did you seek me out?" The echidna asked taking a seat on a nearby rock.

"A trio of experienced hikers vanished from their camp last night. It looked like a wild bear attack with tents torn and belongings scattered, but there were no bear tracks and no bodies left behind. I'll show it to you when we arrive, but seven including these three men have disappeared in my forest so far this month!" Rob O' looked down at the silently bubbling brook. "It's my job to make sure the forest is safe for others, if I can't find them, then what can do?"

"How long will it take for us to reach Knottingham?" Garth asked, a line of thought making itself known.

"By cutting through the forest we can bypass towns and checkpoints; we'll reach Knottingham before nightfall if we jog most of the way." Garth nodded and got back to his feet.

"When we get there you'll tell me everything you know about this forest and these disappearances, including local legends and wives-tales." Rob O' looked at him quizzically for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll tell you what I can."

"Good enough. Now lead the way."

* * *

><p><strong>I really want to kick myself for not working on this sooner.<br>Less exciting as previous chapters but good for establishing things.**

**Forlorn's Duty, or FD for short will be updated every few weeks.  
>It's a longer, slightly complex story so I want to be sure everything's on track.<strong>

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed and see you later.**

**-Corrupt TE-**


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